Infusionsoft Vs. ClickFunnels and Why Your Business Might Need Both

ClickFunnels’s recent, #WeAreNotConfusionsoft marketing campaign was more confusing than beneficial. The whole message of the campaign was a direct attempt to compete with Infusionsoft.

But what’s funny is here at Performance Marketer, we’re actually using ClickFunnels together with Infusionsoft!

​Why do we use both? Because they serve two completely different purposes and I’m explaining why.

Video Transcription: Infusionsoft vs ClickFunnels

Today I am going to talk about two different companies that I have pulled up on my screen right now. One of them is Infusionsoft, the other is ClickFunnels.

And recently there has been a ton of people comparing the two, trying to figure out which one would be best for their business: ClickFunnels or Infusionsoft?

Now, let me start by saying we have multiple accounts with ClickFunnels and we have multiple accounts with Infusionsoft. That’s because we use them in a few different businesses. And we actually use them together.

Infusionsoft Dashboard

ClickFunnels Dashboard

So we don't use one or the other exclusively and I am going to explain why. This ClickFunnels review and Infusionsoft comparison will be helpful if you are trying to make the decision of which one to you, or if like us, you need to use both.

Confusionsoft...Wait, What?

There was a recent ClickFunnels campaign that I think is the reason many people are struggling with this ClickFunnels vs Infusionsoft decision.

Essentially, ClickFunnels came out with a massive marketing campaign to differentiate themselves from Infusionsoft. The catchphrase of this campaign: “We are not Confusionsoft.”

Which, I don't know if that's supposed to mean ClickFunnels is better or different, or what. And actually, that’s pretty confusing to me because the two products - ClickFunnels and Infusionsoft - are not the same thing.

Repeat after me: ClickFunnels and Infusionsoft are NOT the same tool

ClickFunnels and Infusionsoft are really not the same. These two powerful marketing tools don’t even serve the same purpose at all.

Which is why I think that that ClickFunnels’s marketing message of “We Are Not Confusionsoft,” might have actually confused people more than necessary.

ClickFunnels is One Part of the Formula

So, why do we use both? Is that something you should be doing as well? And I’ll be honest, ClickFunnels does best, and beats much of the competition when it comes to page building

Even for someone who is not a designer, like myself, I can get in there and make some cool changes to those templates. And actually, with ClickFunnels I can build a really nice looking page that converts very well.

Another thing that this powerful sales funnel builder has is a great looking, easy to use dashboard.

Here is where you’ll find data for your sales funnels and things like your opt-in rate for mobile compared to desktop. You could see things like your earnings per click, and obviously metrics like your revenue for a given time period.

So stuff like that, that’s what makes me love ClickFunnels. It’s an incredible tool that has changed the entire game. And it comes from such a great company that I completely respect. Again, we have multiple ClickFunnels accounts for our different businesses.

But When it Comes to Advanced CRM, Look no Further Than Infusionsoft

Now when it comes to Infusionsoft, this is where things get dicey. Infusionsoft isn't a landing page builder, and it's not a sales page builder. That's just not what they do.

Infusionsoft has some of that functionality built-in, but honestly, it's not something anyone I know uses.

But that’s not to say Infusionsoft is useless, because really, it’s so much more than a page builder. This is a tool that we only use 15-20% of what it’s even capable of doing. But now, we couldn’t even dream of operating our businesses on this level without it.

Bringing These Two Powerhouses Together

The way we use both ClickFunnels and Infusionsoft in our companies is pretty simple actually. On a landing page we built using ClickFunnels, a lead would opt in for one of our lead magnets.

Then they give us their name and email using the opt-in form. Whatever details we need to gather from our leads, that information then gets passed into our integrated Infusionsoft account.

Now what this process allows us to do is automatically create a user profile for every new lead. And if you are thinking that ClickFunnels has that built in too, well, the answer is an unfortunate kind of.

ClickFunnels’ pricing tiers have two options: basic ClickFunnels for $97 a month and the ‘Full ClickFunnels Suite’ which is currently $297 a month.

However, to have that option you’ll need the more expensive of the two. their highest level plan. While ClickFunnels offers some CRM features, it's nowhere near as advanced as what Infusionsoft offers.

And Here’s What Makes Infusionsoft so Incredible:

It’s all because Infusionsoft is truly a complete Customer Relationship Management (CRM) tool. What that means is, along with incredible email marketing automation, Infusionsoft is going to allow you to manage your company’s entire customer and contact databases.

So literally everyone that has interacted with your business, this CRM tool will keep tagged and track all of it.

That includes what pages and when people are visiting on your website. Infusionsoft even knows what type of browser your site visitors are using. It will track their IP addresses so you can know where they are in the world.

Infusionsoft will track every time visitors opt-in for something by giving them a unique ‘tag’ in your database. That’s how this tool will keep track of every single purchase.

Now that you have all this incredible data on everyone who is interacting with your site, you have a crystal clear profile of your ideal users or customers.

Really, what Infusionsoft allows you to do with all that interaction data, is the tools to build the most robust profile of your typical and best users.

Infusionsoft has made it very easy to use all this data to find the perfect group of people in your database for whom you want to market to.

Can’t ClickFunnels Do That?

Now, can ClickFunnels do that? As far as I know, with Actionetics, which is their autoresponder system, what I have played around with it, the answer is no.

They definitely do things like if a person purchased one thing and not the other, then you can market them specifically, but it doesn't go as deep into the data as you can get with Infusionsoft.

Visual Drag and Drop to Build Email Sequences, Fast

Another thing that I love about Infusionsoft - and I think most people who have tried to use ClickFunnels as an autoresponder would agree with this, Infusionsoft really just shines here - is that they have a visual drag and drop Campaign Builder that's for different sales funnels.

So, let's just say you wanted to build a basic email sequence. One where a lead opts in for a free lead magnet. Then next, you email your new subscriber a promotional offer, something small for sale. And then maybe they click that link from your email.

https://blog.clickfunnels.com/getting-started-actionetics-step-step/

An example of building email sequences in Infusionsoft.

Or they don't buy after that email. Then the email sequence you built in Infusionsoft would send them another email, and so on and so on... That’s exactly how you build these huge email campaigns.

When you do this on Infusionsoft, you’re building this email sequence on what looks like graph paper. You’re simply dragging and dropping different elements, tags, and other elements.

Infusionsoft’s setup makes it very easy to swap out elements or build on a retargeting email campaign. Which makes it very clear to see where your people are and what stage they are at in your sales funnels.

​So, that’s a huge advantage of using Infusionsoft. These complex email sequences and autoresponders are something that you cannot do with ClickFunnels.

Why We Use ClickFunnels with Infusionsoft

If that alone was the only difference I would still use Infusionsoft and ClickFunnels together.

Infusionsoft is capable of so much, but one really cool thing that we do use are the Sales Pipelines. It’s a feature in the CRM and email marketing tool that actually creates different opportunity stages based on what your contact has done previously.

“A Salesforce for Small Companies”

So if you have anyone on the phone making sales for you, Infusionsoft will be really helpful.The tool basically has a wholesale system built in!

If you asked Infusionsoft to compare themselves to another CRM platform, they would refer to their company as a Salesforce for smaller businesses. And if you’re not familiar with Salesforce, they’re one of the biggest SaaS, or software as a service, companies in the world.

​Additionally, Salesforce has a very high-ticket CRM platform that requires developers and plenty of custom coding. This program is great if you have 50 or so people on your sales staff, but far too powerful for many small and new businesses.

If your business isn’t that big (yet!), Infusionsoft can handle everything you need to market and manage in-house sales.

That might be getting a little advanced for now, but it's all very possible in the stuff we do every day using ClickFunnels with Infusionsoft.

So, again, I don't think ClickFunnels and Infusionsoft are the same product. Certainly, they’re nowhere close to being identical. Either way, I really think we as marketers shouldn't get in a habit of comparing these two marketing tools.

ClickFunnels or Infusionsoft?

Chances are strong that if you’re watching this video or reading this ClickFunnels review, then you're probably considering a choice.

If you’re familiar with ClickFunnels then you probably remember their, “We Are Not Confusionsoft” marketing campaign that gave off plenty of mixed signals.

Again, ClickFunnels is a great company and I love what they do. I love their products in a way that most Apple fans feel towards the iPhone. Still, they are not Infusionsoft, it's a totally different breed of marketing.

ClickFunnels Review

Pros:

​ClickFunnels offers third party eCommerce integrations

​The page builder lets you build landing and sales pages in minutes

​Everything is simple to manage from one interface

​The pre-made funnels are extremely convenient and versatile

​Cons:

​There’s less focus on depth of a single tool, rather a range of different tools

​If you spend a lot on marketing or paid traffic, might feel limited by ClickFunnels’ narrow range of design options

​Landing page builder is easy, but not as powerful as Infusionsoft’s

Infusionsoft Review

Pros:

​All-in-one platform that has everything from email automation to powerful CRM

​Large selection of email templates that are easy to customize and 100% responsive

​Great if your business depends heavily on email marketing and lead generation for revenue

Cons:

​Infusionsoft has one of the steepest learning curves

​Though uncommon, some users have reported deliverability issues

​To begin you must purchase an additional Kickstart training program. At $700 and up, this can be difficult on a small budget

So if anyone has any questions on the ClickFunnels and Infusionsoft integration and wants any further explanation or questions, we’re always really happy to help.

That's the point of Performance Marketer. That's the point of this entire blog!

Go ahead and comment below and we will be more than happy to answer any questions.

Anton Kraly

Anton is a the Founder & CEO of Performance Marketer - a place where decades of real world marketing experience is shared. He began building business online in 2007 and has built and sold multiple seven-figure businesses.

Disappointed with your first landing page email. Could not be opened. I am thinking Infusionsoft combo with Clickfunnels is not the answer if the recepients can’t read the email attachment easily. I signed up and gave you my email address and now again, but never received the check list. Unimpressed.